CVO boosts bling, bark and bite

By David Booth, National Post

Originally published: March 14, 2013

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The normal course of events for Harley’s Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) is for the company’s specialists to wait until one of the The Motor Company’s models prove its popularity and, once thus legitimized, it then gets customized. This is why there have been numerous CVO editions of the Electra and Road Glides, but never a custom-tuned Rocker (which sold surprisingly poorly).

The Breakout upends that little equation. Though it turns out that both were designed simultaneously, the CVO’s fully blinged and much more expensive version of the Breakout was actually released sometime last year, whereas the standard version got its official unveiling at this year’s Bike Week.

Juxtaposed releases or not, the CVO is to the standard Breakout what 16-year-old single malt is to blended scotch — it is the essence of Harley-Davidson more thoroughly distilled. Both share the same encasement, but one packs a little more punch and whole bunch more bling.

The most obvious difference is the engine, the CVO 110-cubic-inch edition being the Big Twin uncorked. There’s more bark to its exhaust, the intake’s been opened up with a ramcharging air filter. More to the point, while the standard bike’s 95 pound-feet of torque sounds impressive, it is dwarfed by the CVO’s 112 lb-ft. The CVO jumps where the base model merely accelerates.

More important, though, is the bling. From the multi-spoked chromed wheels to the faux alligator leather seat, the CVO Breakout is just festooned with the details that Harley owners love. But, the most impressive is the Hard Candy Pagan Green paint job that takes 21 distinct steps — including an astounding 10 polishing grades — to bring out its incredible lustre. Pictures don’t do this justice and, indeed, according to insiders, just painting the tank takes almost as much time as assembling the rest of the motorcycle. Of course, that’s why one shells out the requisite $30,099 (something of a bargain by Custom Vehicle Operations standards) CVO Breakout ownership demands. That and that monster 1,802-cc spitting, barking engine.